St Kilda livewire forward Jack Lonie didn’t quite reach the dazzling heights he graced in his debut season, but the classy left-footer finished in the senior team and finished in form to build some momentum into the pre-season and into 2017.
Lonie, 20, played seven of the first eight games before spending an extended spell at Sandringham, where despite strong form at VFL level, the Seaford product couldn’t force his way back into Alan Richardson’s side during the middle part of the season.
After only playing one senior game in the middle part of the season – Round 15 on the Gold Coast – Lonie worked his way back into St Kilda’s forward line for the final fortnight of the season.
Once back in, the goal sneak set the tone for defensive pressure, particularly in the front half. In the last two games, against Richmond and Brisbane, Lonie was ranked No. 3 at St Kilda for pressure acts (18.0 per game), demonstrating the improvements to the defensive side of his game.
And while Nick Riewoldt stole the show against the Lions in Round 23, Lonie cashed in with three goals of his own, which reminded the landscape of his nous around goal. He added that set of three to the three goals he kicked against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in Round 1 – the two best hauls of his short career.
Alan Richardson’s Views:
“‘Lones’ had a year that didn’t quite live up to the potential that he showed in the first year, it was challenging for him. And that often happens in players second years. I was really pleased with the way he finished off the year, I was pleased with his attitude and his commitment to his footy, whether that be the way that he trained, prepared or the way that he played at VFL level.
“I’m really confident that he’s going to be a very, very important player for us going forward, with his ability to make something out of nothing in the front half, his ability to put pressure on the opposition in the front half, his understanding of his role and his commitment to his team – he’s very, very selfless. He also needs to go through the midfield, not necessarily inside because of his size – he’s more going to be outside – but that’s where he will continue to grow as a player.
“It certainly helps for him to go into the pre-season feeling pleased that he’s been able to get his position back and that he’s been able to perform strongly. So if he had any doubts about his ability, and that can happen with players that aren’t quite where they want to be with respect to the team they’re playing in, so there’s no doubt that should reinstate some of that belief.
“All the way through he knew why he wasn’t in the team or why others were in front of him. There were times where he played really good footy at VFL level that normally – certainly in my first couple of years – would have seen him come back in, but the team performed strongly more often than not this year and players in his position performed strongly so there just wasn’t quite the opportunity for him that there might have been. But that’s okay, I want blokes to fight for their position, I want guys desperate and committed to improve to make sure that they play in the AFL team and that’s where ‘Lones’ found himself and that’s okay.”
The Numbers:
10 games
10 goals
10.5 disposals
2.2 tackles
35.4 pressure points (No. 8 at St Kilda)
